Snow Days, Not School Days

oh how i love snow days!  seriously, i love cozying up and hunkering down, cooking, cleaning, and spending time with the munchkins.  (although, i usually do a little happy dance when naptime rolls around.)  this morning was greeted with a 5:45am one call from the school district announcing the delay, to which i happily turned off my alarm.  then again around 8 i received the coveted cancellation call.  finally around 9 we all woke up and i casually made breakfast (cinnamon raisin pancakes - see recipe to follow) around 10.  don't judge.  we are generally not in a rush on snow days.  after all, where are we going? this was the gorgeous view from our table this morning.  i absolutely love, love, love it when the snow sticks to the branches.  i can't imagine a whole lot of other nature scenes that are more beautiful...  another perk - i caught shemar moore on ellen, and all i can say is YUM!!  

today's snow day gave me an opportunity to practice more positive parenting, too.  as i revealed yesterday, i struggle with parenting two under 4.  but it has become my resolve, not just because a new year has come but because it is high time, to be a better, more patient, kinder parent.  i want to encourage my children to make good choices because of my guidance, not because i yelled loud enough to get their attention.  

anyway, when the dreaded tears and back-talking started as i attempted to serve lunch, which might i add was pretty tasty, albeit incredibly simple, i actually followed through with my threat to remove the children from the table if their refusal to eat continued.  minishe exclaimed, "i'll eat! i'll eat!" when i began to pull her chair out from the table, and shoved some sausage in her mouth faster than i could blink.  when i transitioned my attention to minihe, he asked through his tears, "how many bites do i need to take?".  i sat down in satisfaction knowing that i had just won myself a small battle in the war against my children's most annoying habits - the mealtime breakdown.

as for our unexpected breakfast at home today, the kids literally screamed "pancakes" and trampled each other in a fast scramble to help me assemble them in the kitchen.  as i've mentioned in a previous post, pancakes are literally my children's favorite food.  not only do they gobble them up, but they love to help with the prep work.  minihe loves to crack the egg, scoop out flour, stir everything around... minishe is just content to have her own [empty] bowl and spoon and pretend to get in on the action.  

the inspiration for this morning's cinnamon raisin pancakes comes from the absolutely delectable cinnamon raisin biscuit/muffin my daycare provider made last week.  i have been craving one since.  j is an expert at, well, everything!  i am truly blessed to have such a wonderful childcare provider, and i would also call her my friend.  those of you reading this with children in daycare centers or in-home providers know just how valuable it is to find someone you can trust to have your children's best interest as their number one priority day in and day out.  after all, their work is to fundamentally raise our children while we work.

at any rate, here's this morning's pancake recipe.  why i didn't think of adding these ingredients together sooner is beyond me!!

cinnamon raisin pancakes:

look at how fluffy they are fluffing up!

ingredients: enough to make 12 pancakes

• 1/2 C raisins
• 1 C bisquick mix
• 1/2 C milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1 T sugar
• 1 t baking powder (can be omitted but this simple ingredient makes the pancakes really fluff)
• dash nutmeg

preparation:

• before you start your batter, soak the raisins in warm water to plump them up a little
• add remaining ingredients to a bowl and stir to mix
• drain off water from raisins and fold into batter
• heat a titch of oil on a griddle 
• spoon batter onto griddle and flip when bubbles pop and don't fill in
• i served with syrup but i bet a cream cheese drizzle would be excellent (see below)

yes.  i use paper plates and plastic utensils. i abhor washing dishes.

cream cheese drizzle:

• 2 oz cream cheese
• 1/2 C powdered sugar
• 1-2 T butter
• milk to thin
• warm cream cheese, butter, and milk in microwave
• mix, adding more sugar, milk, or cream cheese to desired taste and consistency

Quick Weeknight Meals

i adore meals i can get on the table in under 30 minutes.  in fact, this is primarily the type of meals i make.  this week was a whirlwind and at the end of the month, and i was scraping together what was left in the fridge and pantry.  despite this, i had some winners!  the recipes that follow are eggs benedict, bake deli sandwiches, and sausage and biscuits.

eggs benedict: on the table in under 15 minutes, this quick fix was yummy!

ingredients:

• eggs - as many as you need to serve your family; we used 6
• bread slices for toasting

mock hollandaise sauce--

• 1/2 C miracle whip or mayo
• 1/4 C sour cream
• 1 T mustard
• 2 T lemon juice
• dill and thyme to your taste
• milk to thin

preparation:

• boil a pot full of water; salt boiling water
• crack an egg into a measuring cup and very carefully pour into boiling water
• boil 2-3 eggs but make sure egg has enough room to "breathe"
• once egg floats freely, remove from boiling water with a slotted spoon
• meanwhile, add miracle whip/mayo, sour cream, mustard, lemon juice, dill and thyme to another small pot, heating through; add milk to thin to your desired consistency
• toast and butter bread
• serve egg on top of toast, slather a little mock hollandaise sauce and enjoy!

baked deli sandwiches: a very quick, but delicious take on the typical deli meat and cheese sandwich.  i love reading other people's blogs and this recipe is my adaptation from karly's buns in my oven baking blog.

ingredients:

• buns 
• 4 slices of deli meat per bun (i used a combination of 2 slices turkey and 2 slices roast beef)
• cheese slices (i folded the slice into 1/4's and placed two of the small squares on top of each meat pile
• 1/2 C melted butter
• 1 t ground mustard
• 1 t poppy seeds
• 2 t onion flakes or 1 t onion powder
• 2 T worcestershire sauce

preparation:

• slice buns open and place bottoms in a pan that accommodates your number of sandwiches
• layer meat, followed by cheese
• place bun top on sandwich
• mix melted butter, mustard, poppy seeds, onion flakes/powder, sauce and pour over buns.
• cover with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

sausage and biscuits: my uncle gordy from omaha makes exceptional sausage and biscuits at our thanksgiving get-togethers.  no matter how much i try to reconstruct this recipe, it is never quite as good as his.  this recipe came as close as i have gotten yet, though!

sausage and gravy ingredients:

• 1/2 lb bulk pork sausage
• 1/2 lb italian pork sausage
• 1 t lawry's seasoning salt
• 1/2 t garlic salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• shake of red pepper flakes
• 2 T corn starch
• 1 1/2- 2 C milk

preparation:

• cook sausage with seasonings, draining any ridiculous amount of grease off. (i left a little grease so i wouldn't have to add butter to create the roux)
• when thoroughly cooked, add corn starch, stirring into meat
• after 30-60 seconds, add cold milk, heating on medium low until the gravy reaches your desired consistency.

biscuit ingredients:

• 2 1/4 C bisquick mix or any bisquit mix of your choice
• 2/3 C milk
• 1/2 C shredded cheese
• 1/2 t minced garlic
• 2 T butter

preparation:

• mix all ingredients together in a bowl
• drop by spoonful onto a baking sheet
• bake for 9-12 minutes in a 400 degree oven

serving suggestions:
gordy serves his sausage biscuits and gravy with hard-boiled eggs, green peppers, and onions.  adds another dimension of flavor!

Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Butter Noodles

as promised this afternoon on facebook, here is what was for supper tonight at reeder ranch!  at the bottom is a picture of the finished meal, served with steamed green beans and fruit salad.  the fruit salad is my grandmother's concoction, and i cannot locate it in my recipe box.  i'll post it sometime later this week after grandma emails it to me.  the kid's call it frozen cupcakes and go crazy for them!


lemon garlic shrimp and butter noodles:
preparation time - 35-65 minutes
cooking time - 10 minutes


basic ingredients:
thawed shrimp
*enough to serve your family; i used 1/2 pound but probably could have done the whole pound... i'm trying to cut back on my portions, so it's also probably fine that i didn't use the whole package :)
*could use uncooked, but pre-cooked makes the process faster and more cost efficient
8-10 oz. thin noodle (spaghetti works fine)
*again, use as much as needed for your family. i had a 32 oz. box of vermicelli and used about a third.


shrimp marinade:
3-4 T lemon juice
2 T honey
1 T oil
1 T minced garlic
1 T soy sauce
sprinkle ground mustard
sprinkle salt
sprinkle red pepper flakes (optional)


butter noodles:
3 T butter
medium palmful parsley flakes (1/2-1 T?)
small palmful garlic salt (1/2 t?)
extra small palmful basil leaves (1/4 t?)
1-2 T leftover marinade, if desired
serve with a sprinkle of parmesan, if desired

preparation:
thaw, remove tails, rinse and pat dry shrimp 
*i remove tails because of the kids, but if you like it with tails on, by all means, do what you like...
mix with marinade and let sit for 30-60 minutes
prepare grill pan for skewered shrimp or frying pan for sauteed shrimp 
boil water, adding 1 T oil, 1/2 t salt to water 
*rachael ray says that the oil prevents the noodles from sticking to each other and the only time to season the noodles is in the boiling process
follow package instructions to prepare noodles
after adding noodles to water, heat pan for shrimp
*avoid overcooking pre-cooked shrimp or it gets rubbery
drain off water and immediately add butter, parsley, basil, garlic salt, and marinade
toss to melt butter
sprinkle with a dash of parmesan and some fresh parsley right before serving

more, please!

 fish is a dish i am not confident in my ability to prepare.  i have tried boxes of breading, countless cookbooks, consulted websites, all with an inconsistent level of success.  tonight's recipe worked out beautifully and ironically, i followed no recipe at all...  three of the four of us were members of the clean plate club, in fact!  i'll divide this recipe out a little bit differently than previous posts...


breading: mix the following in shallow pan
spattering of seasoned bread crumbs (probably 1/2 c)
2 T corn meal
2 T flour
1 t parsley
sprinkling of garlic salt
s&p


in a bowl, wisk together 
3/4 c milk
2-3 T sour cream
1 t lemon juice


fish:
tilapia fillets to fill your family, i think i fried 6 and could have gotten away with 4 or 5...
thaw fillets, rinse well, and pat dry


tartar sauce:
3/4 c miracle whip
1/4 c sour cream
2-3 T finely diced onion
1 T relish
1 T lemon juice
1 t dill
1 t parsley
s&p


mix all ingredients in a small bowl while fish is thawing to allow flavors to marry longer.


preparation:
in a skillet, heat 2 T oil
dip fillet in milk, dredge in breading, place on skillet
fry until golden and flip, total time around 7 minutes
*i am always concerned about cooking fish completely so i err on the side of over cooking...

french onion soup & burgers

i adore my slow cooker and use it as frequently as i can, usually once during the week, and once on the weekend.  i came across a recipe on betty crocker website and followed it, mostly.  i didn't have broth on hand but i did have instant bouillon.  (more about that below) i also didn't have any mozarella but i did have a block of muenster. (also more about that below)  the soup served 6 with leftovers for french onion burgers, the second recipe in this post.  it's delicious!!!


french onion soup: this is my adaptation of the betty crocker recipe i found online.
ingredients:
2-3 onions, sliced thinly
6 cups water
2 T instant beef bouillon
**or 4 cans beef broth**
one turn of worcestershire sauce
4 T butter
s&p
loaf of french bread
butter
garlic salt
parsley
4-6 oz. cheese
preparation:
slice onions, add to crock pot
add in four cups of water
microwave until warm, 2 cups of water and stir in 2 T instant beef bouillon, add to crock.
add butter, worcestershire, s&p, and stir to combine.
turn crock on low for 8-10 hours
for french bread -- turn broiler on low (i do this because i inevitably burn bread otherwise...)
i happened to have the kind that was sliced lengthwise and pre-buttered, so i placed my slices of muenster on top and broiled until bubbly.  otherwise, you could use the prepackaged texas cheese toast, or slice your bread the "right" way, butter and season both sides, pile mozarella sky high, and broil until bubbly.
notes:
i am a fan of homemade but semi-homemade is sometimes just as delicious and takes a whole lot less effort.  i think if i make this again i'll use texas cheese toast and save myself the expense and time...


french onion burgers: i used the leftover soup to make these tasty burgers.
ingredients:
1 lb burger
sprinkle of lawry's
1 t parsley - i hear that you're supposed to rub the dried seasonings in your hands to help refresh the aroma and flavor before adding to a dish (shout out to rachael ray, actually...) 
sprinkle of garlic salt
sprinkle of onion salt
1 T bread crumbs
4 buns
butter
onion salt
1 cup french onion soup (could use a can of soup, make a packet of it, or simmer some onions in a can of broth)
sliced cheese
preparation:
preheat the oven to a low broil (again, i use low so i don't burn the bread)
thaw the burger and mix in seasonings and bread crumbs
form patties - 1/4 lb patties was perfect for us and fit right on the bun, but you could make them smaller)
fry 'em up!  (or grill if the weather permits)
while the burgers are cooking, butter the buns and sprinkle with onion or garlic salt or both
when just about done, remove burgers from the pan and add soup
bring to a boil and cook out some of the liquid, condensing the flavor
when you add the burgers back to the pan, throw the buttered buns in the oven
serve the burgers with a slice of cheese and a side of the au jus left in the pan!  
notes: 
these were delicious and everybody ate every last morsel.  the toasted buns added a nice crunch, and the au jus made it seem a little more like a restaurant burger.

strawberry sour cream pancakes

pancakes are a huge hit in our house. anytime. i've experimented with bisquick, homemade batters, add-in's, syrups...  i've made this strawberry sour cream recipe several times with excellent results and very happy eaters.  i hope you like it!

strawberry sour cream pancakes: i eyeball a lot of my ingredients so this in generally a more or less kind of recipe.  add ingredients to achieve your desired consistency.

ingredients:

1 cup bisquick

1 egg

1/4-1/3 c sour cream

1/4-1/3 c milk

2 T sugar

1/2-3/4 c quartered strawberries (i used frozen and thawed them partially)

preparation:

mix together the first five ingredients, adding more milk or bisquick to achieve your desired consistency

fold in the strawberries; be gentle or your pancakes will turn pink

heat a griddle with a teaspoon of oil, spoon batter and spread out slightly. 

flip when bubbles pop and don't fill back in, 2-3 minutes.

second side goes faster, about 1-2 minutes.

yielded 14 pancakes

notes:

i have found that lowest heat setting yields the most even cooked, blonde colored pancakes.  it takes a little more patience, but definitely worth the effort. these go so fast i haven't had the chance to actually freeze this particular kind, but i have frozen blueberry, banana, applesauce, and regular pancakes very successfully.  just make sure to put them in a freezer bag, squeeze as much air out as you can, and seal it tight.  just pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds, sometimes less depending on thickness and size.

 my happy eaters dug right in!

what's cookin', good lookin'?

...a common phrase my husband begins a good percentage of our conversations with when he comes in the house every night.  i usually answer with whatever it may be, which is, of course, received by a facial reaction.  after our eighth year together, i have gotten pretty good at deciphering these subtle hints.
this week has not been a week in which to boast about my meal planning and what i served, but there were a few gems.  we smoked a whole chicken on sunday and it made four meals for us!  the here are those recipes:


smoked chicken
ingredients:
5-7 lb. whole chicken
your choice of seasonings
charcoal/wood chucks
preparation:
unpackage chicken, remove the stuff inside, rinse, and pat dry.
rub down with your favorite spices - i just used some lawry's seasoning salt, but have created some elaborate rubs.  it really doesn't make all too much difference because you throw away the skin anyway and the smoker flavor is most predominant.
i think it smoked with charcoal and hickory for 4-5 hours; d takes care of the smoker!  :)
notes:
we would like to try a beer butt chicken on the smoker at some point, so if any of you have any great suggestions, please send them our way!


chicken enchiladas: i wanted something mexican but that didn't require me to run to the grocery store - i looked in the pantry and found i had everything i needed for a quick enchilada bake!
ingredients:
1 1/2 cups shredded/cubed chicken (we had smoked a whole chicken on sunday and i shredded both breasts and had enough left over for chicken salad sandwiches... see recipe for that next!)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (i use the reduced sodium/reduced fat in all of my cooking) 
1 cup salsa
1/2-1 cup shredded cheese (& more for sprinkling on top)
1 can or recipe of enchilada sauce
preparation:
preheat oven to 400 degrees
mix chicken, soup, salsa, and cheese together in a bowl.  
scoop mixture into lower 1/3 of a burrito shell and roll up
place in greased 9x13 baking pan, seam side down
pour enchilada sauce over the top, covering each burrito
sprinkle more cheese on top
bake until heated through and cheese is melted - i baked 15 minutes, but could have gone 20-25
serve with your choice of typical toppings - lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, olives...


chicken salad: with the breast i had shredded but didn't need for the enchiladas, i repurposed for chicken salad sandwiches, but with a twist!
ingredients:
1/2-3/4 cup shredded/cubed chicken
1/2 c miracle whip/mayo
1/4 c finely diced onion
1 T mustard
1/2 t dill
1/2 t parsley
1/2 t thyme
s&p
red pepper flakes
drizzle of honey
preparation:
mix all ingredients and spread on your choice of bread.  
notes:  i don't like much spice, but the red pepper flakes added a whole spin on the typical chicken salad.  the dill was a nice change of pace as well, but with the onions, some bites tasted more like tarter sauce than chicken salad, so use your discretion with the amount of dill you use.


one skillet beef and noodles: needed a quick meal after getting home late from work one night this week.  i also had a half a jar of pasta sauce in the fridge that i needed to use.  kids despised it but i thought it was delicious.
ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, finely diced
1/2 green pepper, finely diced
1 can of mushrooms or 1/2-3/4 c sliced, fresh mushrooms
1 t minced garlic
s&p
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (i used 1/2 jar and 1/2-3/4 cup of water and it was not dry...)
3-4 oz velveeta (nice sized chunk - i'm estimating its volume)
8 oz. egg noodles (half of a bag)
water to cover
preparation:
brown beef, add s&p and garlic from the get-go
when beef is half done, add onion
when beef is almost done, add mushrooms and peppers and another dose of s&p
after beef is browned, add in to the same skillet the noodles
pour enough water to cover the noodles and stir to mix ingredients together
let mixture come to a boil and then reduce heat slightly
when noodles are done 7-9 minutes, add sauce and cheese
continue to heat and stir until cheese is melted and ingredients are combined.
notes:
it would be equally delicious without the peppers.  also, cooking the noodles in the same skillet may add a slightly higher starch content to the dish as a whole, so if that is something you're concerned about for you or your family, consider boiling the noodles separately.  other noodles could be used - penne, rotini, elbow, etc. - i have found egg noodles to be the quickest cooking.